Bloom's Taxonomy of Thinking Process

PURPOSE: The purpose of using questions from the different taxonomy levels is to accommodate the different learners you will definitely have in your class. As individuals, your students will likely prefer some of these questions to others. Use these questions and more like them to discover your students' strengths as learners.

KNOWLEDGE: What is the Bumblebee?
(A red painted wooden MG car. Ch. 1)

COMPREHENSION: Explain the Handyman's purpose in "manufacturing nightmares" for Barney.
(Answers will vary slightly but the main reason is that the Handyman is using Barney as a fall-guy. He is basically sacrificing Barney's memories for the long-term benefit of better understanding how memory works and what needs to be done to preserve other people's memories. See Chs. 15-16)

APPLICATION: The book points out that bumblebees fly although the laws of science say they can't. Think of something that overcomes incredible odds. Explain what it is that makes this particular thing defeat the odds.
(Answers will vary. Students should be thinking of things outside the realm of the novel. An example might be Michael Jordan becoming such a great basketball player even though his high school coach cut him from the team.)

ANALYSIS: Compare Barney's attitudes toward suicide in Chapter 20 with his suicidal tendencies in Chapters 21-22. What is the difference in these attitudes? What specific things cause the attitudes to change?
(See Chapters 20-22. In Chapter 20, Barney's suicidal eagerness is all about calling Mazzo's bluff on really wanting to die. He wants to seem big in the eyes of Mazzo because of the few peoples' opinions that mattered to Barney, Mazzo's mattered. In Chapter 21, Cassie, Mazzo's twin, senses her brother's death and she also senses someone else - Barney. Barney became that close to Mazzo. In chapter 22, Barney no longer wants to die because he now has what he never had before - a treasured memory. He cheated death in the Bumblebee. "The Bumblebee is still flying." Now that he has a treasured memory he no longer needs death. He no longer needs suicide even if he has been reduced to nothing but blinking.)

SYNTHESIS:
Think about who Barney would be without the character Mazzo. If Mazzo were not a character in the book, how would the character development of Barney be different? State how he would be different in one sentence and then cite three examples from the actual book that prove your premise.
(Students' answers should be evaluated on using actual quotes from the text to prove the validity of their premises. For example, if one of my premises is that Mazzo is the one that makes Barney suicidal in the first place, I could prove it with the following quote by Barney - "Listen to me Mazzo. I'm calling your bluff. You're the guy who said he wanted to end it all. You also said you wanted to go out in a flash. Well okay. We're going to do it together." P. 218)

EVALUATION: Critique Barney's mental health at the end of the novel. He is hell-bent on committing suicide and then in the last chapter, suicide isn't even a thought anymore. Judge if Barney will ever be suicidal again. Justify your answer with evidence from the text.
(Answers again will vary but must include some connection to the actual text. Since Chapter 22 is the chapter that shows Barney as no longer being suicidal, students should include some reference to this chapter whichever way they are deciding to argue.)